Katherine Lawrey joins Royal’s associate vice-president and general manager Jo Rzymowska on a whirlwind tour of Kent, handing out cakes, collateral and killer sales tips...
When Royal Caribbean International concocts a plan to visit 5,000 agents globally in a single day, everyone has to pull their weight. And that includes associate vice-president and general manager Jo Rzymowska, who does her bit on the cruise line’s global sales blitz last week.
I accompany her to Hempstead Valley and Bluewater shopping centres in Kent, helping her distribute cakes, bunting, and collateral about cruise deals to eight agencies throughout the day. She tells them about the bonus shopping voucher incentive that’s ongoing throughout June. And we also hand over golden tickets, with the promise that one of the agents we meet will win a cruise.
First stop, Thomas Cook in Hempstead Valley. It is encouraging for Jo to see print-outs displaying Royal Caribbean cruise deals on show. Manager Alison Shaw is optimistic about trading - the shop has already hit its target for June. But customers have raised concerns over using the euro in Spain and Greece, she says.
Ever quick off the mark, Jo quips: “Another reason to promote cruising.” Alison explains that each of her staff “adopt” a Royal Caribbean ship to specialize in, so they really get to know the product.
"Jo goes over and gets stuck in, highlighting an onboard credit offer of $100, which won’t be available after today"
Over in the Thomson shop, manager and regional cruise expert Marie Carpenter tells us about another tactic her shop employs: “We each pick an offer a day to really focus on selling.” Marie is a great advocate for Royal Caribbean and Celebrity Cruises: she even switch-sells customers who come in asking for city breaks on to cruise.
She tells us how one of her agents switch-sold a customer who had come in asking for Secrets Jamaica. “When it wasn’t available, Holly asked the customer: ‘what is it you love about Secrets?’ ‘It’s luxurious and the food is fantastic’, was the reply. So she sold him Celebrity and he’s on the ship now.”
The only issue Marie raises is in selling 2013. She says it is hard to convince customers to pay the higher prices for next year when last-minute prices are so low. So Jo reminds her about some of the early booking offers and incentives available for 2013, including free coach transfers or car parking.
When we walk into Thomson (First Choice) in Bluewater our timing cannot be better. Star cruise agent Carl Stoner is sat with a customer keen to book a Royal Caribbean cruise. So of course Jo goes over and gets stuck in, highlighting an onboard credit offer of $100, which won’t be available after today. The woman and her son are convinced, but they are unable to finalize the booking as her husband (presumably chief banker in the family) is tied up in a meeting at work and can’t come to the phone!
Over in the busy Thomas Cook store Lorna Ovett tells us that sales have picked up in May and June after a slow start to the year. She says the store’s varied cruise sales are driven by the diverse clientele at Bluewater. People travel long distances to visit the shopping centre, so you never what to expect in terms of sales, she says. The store’s strategy is to pick a few key deals to focus on, and Lorna says that putting offers on to customer-facing boards really helps drive sales.
In Bluewater’s Kuoni store (left), Jo has the chance to expand her Azamara Club Cruises sales pitch as this store does more volume for the boutique cruise line than the others we have seen. Free flights, balcony upgrades and single supplements down to just 25% should all help agents to sell the brand in June and earn themselves £30 Harrods gift vouchers.
In Virgin Holidays’ House of Fraser concession, the balloons are up, because agent Laura Colley is celebrating her 30th birthday. They only sell long-haul here, so Jo chats about Royal Caribbean’s cruise & stay product with Universal Orlando Resort.
The agents say that cruise sales tend to be price driven, and customers tend to know what they want. But if they are undecided, one agent admits she sells Norwegian Epic, because that’s what she knows, having cruised on it herself. But there’s hope for Jo that Jemma Taylor will start doing the same for Royal Caribbean once she returns from a family cruise onboard Splendour of the Seas this summer to celebrate her mum’s 50th.
Thomson is our final call of the day, where they tell us that Independence is their best-selling ship in the store and they are keen to know it will be staying in Southampton for the foreseeable future. Yes it will, says Jo, adding that Adventure of the Seas will join it next year.
Julie Gibbs, cruise specialist, says that customers booking well in advance tend to know what they want, but last-minute bookers are undecided, and searching for deals, which she admits she finds hard to find for Royal Caribbean. Jo’s advice is first to check the online system, and then to get on the phone to the call centre or the trade support team. Both lines should be answered quickly and they will help you out, she reassures Julie.
To prove the point, Jo gets Nicki Lewis from trade support on the phone, who manages to beat Julie’s previous price for Adventurer of the Seas by £50. Julie proudly tells us that last year she converted a reluctant first-timer, who has now booked four cruises in total with the agency.
The golden envelopes, giving agents the chance to win a cruise, which Jo hands over at the end of every sales call, generate much excitement. One Thomas Cook agent compares them to Willy Wonka’s golden tickets and a Thomson agent says it’s like the Oscars. The winner could not have looked more shocked or surprised - Marie from Thomson in Hempstead Valley!